CNN– Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will announce he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberal Party on Monday, but remain prime minister until a new leader is chosen, a source close to the PM told CNN.
Trudeau is expected to make the announcement at a news conference scheduled for 10.45a ET on Monday.
Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party for 11 years and prime minister for nine, was facing a mounting set of crises, from Donald Trump’s tariff threats to the resignation of key allies and disastrous opinion polls.
His resignation would be seen as the PM choosing to jump before he is pushed, ahead of a general election to be held later this year that he is widely expected to lose.
The move would leave the Liberal Party without a permanent leader before the general election, where polls show it is set to badly lose to the opposition Conservative Party, led by the firebrand Pierre Poilievre. The election must be held on or before October 20, but could be brought forward.
The Liberal Party national executive, which controls leadership issues, is scheduled to meet this week, likely after the caucus.
Trudeau’s government was rocked by the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland – just hours before she was due to deliver her annual fiscal update.
In a blistering letter of resignation, she criticized Trudeau’s “political gimmicks,” likely referring to a two-month sales tax holiday and 250 Canadian dollar ($175) rebates for most workers.
Freeland said Canada could “ill afford” these policies, seen as a pre-election handout to claw back some voters, and coming as the country faces the serious prospect of huge tariffs which could be levied by the incoming Trump administration.
Trump, set to return to the White House on January 20, has said he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products coming into the US from Canada. Trump has also taken to belittling Trudeau and the country of Canada on social media, referring to the prime minister as the “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”
Trudeau took the Liberals to power in 2015, promising “sunny ways” for Canada. He championed progressive issues like combating climate change and addressing historic abuses against Indigenous peoples, but the latter years of his premiership have been marked by rising economic discontent.
A viral confrontation with a steel worker, who criticized Trudeau for not addressing the high cost of living, captured the growing discontent among Canadians.
“You’re not really doing anything for us, Justin,” the worker remarked, highlighting a sentiment that resonated widely.
Trudeau was elected three times, most recently in 2021, when he remained in power but lost his governing majority. Since then, Poilievre’s Conservative Party has built a lead over the Liberal Party of more than 20% in national polling averages.
Poilievre has recently found a following with some in Trump’s base, including Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and owner of X. Late last year, Musk called Trudeau “an insufferable tool,” adding that Trudeau “won’t be in power for much longer.”
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good fu he! Gizelle still have MORE BALLS than all these weak men. She done say she not stepping down! Like it or not. Are you better wait are u libba til next UPP convention!
I’ll miss his fine ass.
Open Comment to Lars Jamale Pringle:
NEVER QUIT! NEVER BACK DOWN! YOU ARE THE NEXT BALDWIN SPENCER! STAY! STAY! STAY! UPP CERTAIN VICTORY! (etc etc, Brixtonian style)
@Keeping it real
You are keeping it wayyyy too real 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
That is realpolitik and pragmatism at work. Trudeau knows that his Party cannot win the next general elections and to give his Party a better chance his resignation would help. The same thing appplies to the UPP here in Antigua and Barbuda. The UPP cannot win the next general elections under the present leadership. The UPP under its current chairman continues to bury her head in the sand and believes that because the Party came so close to win in 2023 that the Party will do as well or better at the next poll. The next general election will see the end of the UPP if the leadership remains unchanged,
A good friend of mine.
Oh Please ah whah you name Gaston?
Good riddance. Fidelito is a complete idiot who totally destroyed Canada in 11 years.
The next one cannot be worst.
Canadians don’t want any more indians and blacks in their country. Mass deportations around the corner. All the Antiguans in Canada will have to come back home. The Nazis are on the march across Europe and north america.
It took Canadians 10 years to clean up the trash!
Just exchanging one WEF puppet for another. No real fundamental changes that benefits the masses are coming. Most likely, a more deeply entrenched Great Reseter will replace Trudeau.
The NWO/Agenda 2030 is accelerating its goals
The main objective for 2025 is, the budding biosecurity state and its technocratic culmination…for control. Trudeau set the precedent with the covid jab. Now, a chameleon is needed to lull the awakened back to sleep.